Freely Flows the Blood of Those Who Moralize
by johan4ever
Summary: Gx Sweeney Todd x-over. Jaden and company find themselves caught in the murderous revenge plot of Sweeney Todd, the demon barber of Fleet Street in 18th century London. Who will survive.....and who will be made into a delicious meat pie?
1. Where Are We?

Ok, here goes. I LOVE Sweeney Todd, so I thought I'd try to do a crossover between that and Yu-gi-oh gx. Hopefully, it'll work. Basic summary: Jaden and the gang get caught in 19th century London, where they meet Mrs. Lovett, Judge Turpin, Beadle Bamford, Toby, Pirelli, Anthony, Johanna, and Sweeney Todd himself. Who will return to duel academy and who will be made into a delicious meat pie?

Yes, I know i'm mean. i apologize in advance if i kill off your favorite character. there won't be any killing in the first few chapters, but later on, most of the characters will die. And yes, I realize this is kinda weird, and Zane is still at the academy, even though this story is set in season two. but he hasn't gone emo yet ok? he's just at DA visiting or something.

I don't own Yu-gi-oh gx or Sweeney Todd. D: btw, Sweeney Todd spoilers in this story if you haven't seen the musical. don't say i didnt warn you! rating will go up later.

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Jaden collapsed in a heap on his bed after a hard day of school, which involved sleeping and eating for the most part. He sighed contentedly, knowing that the weeked was here at last, and there would be no school work for at least a few days. Only dueling, dueling, and...well... more dueling. He turned on his side, stretching a bit as a few warm rays of sun glanced over his face, lighting up his bright brown eyes. Winged Kuriboh appeared next to him, looking a bit nervous.

"Kuriboh? Is everything ok?" Jaden asked the duel spirit.

The little furry creature shook it's head, chirping some more. Jaden frowned. Kuriboh only acted like this when there was something really wrong going on. He jumped up, and followed the duel spirit as it led him out of the dorm room. As he ran down the stairs, he noticed Syrus and Hassleberry coming up.

"Hey Jay, where are you going?" asked Syrus.

"No time to talk now guys, something's wrong," replied Jaden, continuing to run after Kuriboh. Both Syrus and Hassleberry shrugged, figuring it would just be another let's-save-the-world-from-evil adventure. Or maybe it was just someone lost in the woods. Either way, they ran after Jaden into the forest, and eventually, the three ended up by the Obelisk Blue dorms. Alexis ran up to them with Atticus and Zane following closely behind.

"Jaden? Is everything ok? Why are you guys running?" she asked.

"Kuriboh says there's something weird going on. So, I've been following him to see what's the matter," Jaden replied, a little out of breath from running.

"Do you believe everything that little hairball says?" a voice asked from the woods. Chazz jumped down from a nearby tree branch, a mocking smirk placed on his lips.

"Well, yeah," said Jaden. "Kuriboh's never wrong about these sorts of things."

Chazz's duel spirit, Ojama Yellow, appeared over the black-clad duelist's shoulder. "Yeah boss! Something doesn't feel right here. Maybe we should follow Jaden," suggested the spirit, beaming brightly at Chazz, who scowled back.

"No one cares what you think!" he yelled, swatting at the little yellow creature. After a few attempts at hitting the spirit, Chazz eventually made the poor thing disappear.

"...Well, what are we waiting for?" Hassleberry said, breaking the awkward moment for those who couldn't see the duel spirit Chazz was swatting at. "Let's go!"

The rest of the gang nodded, following Jaden as he took off again after Kuriboh. In a matter of minutes, they came to a remote place in the woods. The canopy above was dense, allowing little sunlight to shine through. Kuriboh stopped, signaling that this was where something was wrong.

Everyone stayed silent.

Jaden turned around constantly, looking for something that was unordinary, but muteness was the only response. He stepped forward a few inches, when something green glowed from one of the bushes. Jaden jumped back a little, surprised at finally finding something.

"Did you guys see that?" said Jaden, as his adrenaline rushed through his body.

"Yeah, what was it?" asked Atticus.

"I dunno. Let's check it out," said Jaden. He moved forward again, and the object glowed green. The brunette pushed aside a few branches and twigs, revealing a small, bracelet, which glowed bright in his hand. "What do you think it is?" he asked.

Chazz took a step toward the bracelet, examining it. "Probably just a piece of jewelry," he scoffed.

"Maybe Bastion knows what it is. He's the smart one after all," said Jaden, pulling his communicator out of his pocket. He flipped over the screen and pressed a few buttons. Bastion appeared on the small screen in a matter of seconds.

"Jaden? What is it?" the genius asked.

"Can you come take a look at this? We found this bracelet, but it's like, glowing. And Kuriboh senses there's something bad about it," Jaden said plainly.

"Ok, I'll be there in a few minutes. I'll see if I can figure out what it is," Bastion replied. He disappeared from the screen.

Jaden looked up to the rest of the gang, "He'll be here in a minute. I'm sure if anyone can figure out what it is, it's Bastion." The group nodded in agreement, knowing that Bastion was a true genius and could figure out ANYTHING. Well, that is, except figuring out how to beat Jaden in a duel.

"Jaden, can I see the bracelet?" asked Alexis.

"Sure thing 'Lex," Jaden said, placing the glowing bracelet in her hand. As it touched her, it began to glow blue instead of green.

Alexis's eyes widened as she watched the bracelet change color. "That's strange," she said. "Here, Atticus, you try holding it." She passed the bracelet to her brother. As it touched his hand, it turned orange.

"That's just crazy!" said Atticus. "I wonder what's so bad about it..."

Before he could continue, Bastion appeared out of the forest, but he wasn't alone. Aster followed closely behind Bastion as they approached the group.

"Ok," Bastion began. "Where is this bracelet?"

Without hesitation, Atticus handed the glowing object to Bastion. The bracelet glowed purple as it landed gently in the genius's hand.

After several minutes of silence, Aster spoke. "So, uh, what exactly is it?"

"I'm...not sure," Bastion finally said. "But it appears to have some strange chemical properties that allow it to glow different colors depending on who touches it."

Suddenly, the bracelet glowed more powerfully. The color drained out of it as it turned white. The light grew, consuming the forest and the group of students with it. Before long, the students were unconscious.

After what seemed several hours, Jaden opened his eyes slowly. He sat up, dizzy, and looked around. The dark and dank city held no promise of hope or happiness as smoke polluted the gray sky. The dilapitdated buildings and mysterious alleyways surrounded the group as Jaden looked farther on. People walked by, paying no heed to Jaden or any of the other students. The simply glanced over their shoulder and walked on. Jaden noticed that their clothing was worn and old, torn from years of hardship and labor. Slowly, the others woke up, observing their surroundings as well. Jaden got to his feet, hoping to find some sign of duel academy, but found only more and more broken windows and rotting buildings.

He turned to the group, and saw that each of them were just as confused and shocked as he was. In silence, they watched as the people walked past. Finally, Jaden dared to say something.

"Guys...where are we?"

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Ha. It's kinda cheesy and weird, but i had to find some way to get them to the right setting! lol. so yeah. it'll get better in the later chapteres. review please?


	2. A Stranger, a Sailor, and a Pie Shop

Jaden continued looking around, along with the others, trying to find some clue as to where they were. So far, they had found nothing. After a long, uneasy silence, Bastion spoke. "I don't know where we are, but it looks to me like London."

"London?" asked Syrus. "I thought London would look a lot cleaner than this. And the people here dress weird."

Before another word was spoken, a disgruntled looking man pushed through the group of students. His eyes were dark, almost as dark as his scruffy, black hair. In the front of his hair, a noticable streak of gray could be seen. His skin was deathly pale, and his clothing was torn from time and a long journey. The man nearly knocked Syrus off his feet, but kept walking as if the students weren't there. He seemed to be muttering something under his breath, something about a hole in the world.

Jaden called after the stranger. "Hey you! Come back here!" Jaden yelled. The stranger kept walking, too concentrated on walking to his destination. Jaden turned back to Syrus. "You ok Sy?"

"I'm fine Jay. I just want to get back home," the blunette said, looking down at the ground.

"He's right," Aster agreed. "We don't know where we are and we need to find a way to get back to Duel Academy. Now."

"But where do we start?" asked Alexis.

Again, the silence consumed them.

"...Maybe we should try talking to some people around here," suggested Hassleberry. "Then we can find out where the heck we are."

The group nodded, and turned to leave down the street, but not before Chazz accidentally bumped into a young man, no older than he was. The man fell to the ground, along with his belongings.

"Watch where you're going!" snapped Chazz.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry," muttered the young man as he grabbed his bag and stood up again. He looked puzzled at the group of people before him. "You don't look like you're from around here," he noted.

"Yeah, uh you see, we're a little...lost," said Jaden. "By the way, I'm Jaden." He pointed to everyone as he introduced them, "And this is Syrus, Alexis, Hassleberry, Chazz, Bastion, Aster, Atticus, and Zane."

"It's quite nice to meet you all," said the young man. "I'm Anthony. Anthony Hope. I'm new here myself, so I'm afraid I can't help you out finding your way around London."

Bastion smiled to himself. "So, this is London after all is it?" he asked.

Anthony nodded. "Yes, this is London. No place like it!"

"So if this is London, why does it look so different? When I visited London, it looked a lot nicer than this..." Bastion trailed off.

"I haven't been to London myself," Jaden cut in. "But on tv, it didn't look nearly as dark or gloomy."

Anthony looked at him, confused beyond belief. "What is tv? Is that some new land yet not discovered by man?" asked Anthony excitedly.

"Um, no, it's a thing...well, it's hard to describe. But by your reaction, I'm guessing we're not even in the same time period as we were before we came here," Bastion said.

"Yes, this is London, and it's 1863," Anthony said matter-of-factly.

Everyone's eyes widened. "What!?!?" they all said in unison. The only student who remained calm was Zane, who continued to stare blankly at the city.

"If you aren't from this time...what time are you from?" asked Anthony, trying his best to grasp the concept of the current situation.

"Well, I guess you could say we're from the future," said Alexis. "We just...kind of appeared here."

"I'll say," said Anthony. "I didn't think there was such a thing as traveling through different time periods."

"Neither did we. But for now, it doesn't matter how we got here, we just need to find a way to get back," Aster stated seriously.

Anthony frowned in concentration. "I'm afraid I don't know how to help you, but perhaps sometime we'll meet again," he said, glancing down at his watch. "Oh! I better be off. It was nice meeting you all. Best of luck getting back to your own time!" he yelled over his shoulder as he ran off down the street.

"...That was weird," Chazz said, after Anthony was out of earshot.

"He wasn't much help, but maybe we should just keep walking for now," suggested Zane.

"Well, what if we split into groups? Maybe then we'd have better luck finding a way out of here," Aster said.

"Good point," Jaden said, smiling. "I'll go with Syrus, Hassleberry, and Bastion. And Alexis, Atticus, Zane, Aster, and Chazz can be in one group, too."

Zane and Aster exchanged identical glances. Glances of loathing and apprehension. "No way am I going with him," Zane said, pointing his index finger at Aster.

"Same goes for me," Aster glared back.

"Ummm...ok. Then, Aster, you can just come with us," Jaden said, smiling brighter.

Aster sighed discontentedly. "Great, now I'm with an immature idiot," he muttered under his breath.

"Did you say something, bro?" Jaden asked Aster. The silver-haired duelist looked up.

"Oh, nothing Jaden. Let's just get going," he said quickly, before the hyper brunette could say anything else.

Jaden shrugged, and turned toward the group one last time before they split up. "So, why don't we meet back here in an hour or so?" he suggested.

"Sounds good," agreed Alexis. She looked around her for someplace they could meet. "How about we meet in front of that building over there?" she said, pointing to one of the numerous dark buildings. It had two stories, the top with a slanted roof and a large, cracked window, the lower had a sign above it reading "Mrs. Lovett's Meat Pies". The shop looked old and worn down, but it fit in with it's dank surroundings. 

"Fine with me," said Jaden. "See you guys in an hour," he said, waving to Alexis and her group. Each of the groups went down alleyways and streets, looking for evidence of Duel Academy or a way to get back. They looked for what seemed an eternity for the bracelet, hoping that if they found it, it would take them back to their own time. Each person they talked to only ignored them or were insane from the years of hardship and poverty. After an unsuccessful hour of searching, the students met back up at the front of the meat pie shop. 

"No luck," said Atticus, who had a few dirt stains on his uniform already from all the filthy alleyways he searched through.

"Same here," Syrus said quietly. His stomach growled loudly. 

"Well, I guess we'll just have to keep looking. Here, why don't we get something to eat in here first," Bastion suggested, guesturing toward the pie shop.

"Works for me! I'm starving!" said Jaden. The group of students nodded in agreement and quietly entered through the rotting wooden door. Inside was a woman with dark hair. In the light, it almost looked blood red. Her skin was dirty, but pale, and her dress was worn and tattered. Her hands were covered by a pair of gloves, but only her palms. In one of those gloved hands, she held a large knife, which she brought down on a piece of meat on the counter in a continuous rhythm. She sighed heavily, obviously tired and fatigued by her work. Hearing the door creak open, she looked up, and her eyes widened with surprise. She gasped and stabbed the knife straight into the wooden counter.

"Customers!" she whispered excitedly. 


	3. The Worst Pies in London

The group jumped back at the woman's sudden reaction. She rushed up to them, taking them each by the hand and sitting them down at one of the small, worn out tables in the shop. "What's ya rush, what's ya hurry?" she said, speaking in a cockney accent. (1) "You gave me sucha frigh' I though' you was ghosts! 'Alf a minute cancha sit, sit ye down, sit!" the woman said hurriedly as she pushed Syrus down into the seat.

She continued, ignoring the fact that Jaden had opened his mouth to speak. "Didja come 'ere for a pie sir? Do fo'give me if me head's a li'l vague," she looked over disgustedly at the counter on the other side of the room. "Wha' was tha'? Bu' you'd think we 'ad the plague! From the way tha' people keep avoidin', no ya don't!" she yelled as she quickly moved to the counter, squashing a cockroach walking about on the surface. " 'eaven knows I try sir, bu' there's no one comes in even to inhale...righ' you are sir, would you like a drop of ale?" she asked Jaden and the rest of the guys, obviously not caring that they were underage for drinking. "Mind you I can't 'ardly blame them...these are probably the worst pies in London...I know why nobody cares to take 'em, I should know, I make 'em...bu' good, no, the worst pies in London. Even tha's polite: the worst pies in London."

Jaden, Syrus, Bastion, and Chazz all exchanged confused and half-horrified glances as the woman kept talking and talking, not stopping once to let them speak. She stepped behind the counter, picking up a small pie and setting it in front of Hassleberry. She smiled at him as she said, "If you doubt i' take a bite..."

Hassleberry did so, slowly. He chewed on it, but by the twisted look on his face, it was obviously anything but delicious.

Knowingly, the woman continued, "Is tha' just disgusting? You 'ave to concede it, it's nothing bu' crusting." She went back behind the counter and brought out a tin cup, filling it with ale. She handed the cup to Hassleberry and continued talking, " 'ere drink this, you'll need it." Hassleberry drank it quickly in an attempt to get the taste out of his mouth. Unfortunately, the ale didn't taste much better, but he accepted it anyway.

The woman continued once again, "An' no wonde' with the price-a meat what i' is, when ya get i', neve' though' I'd live to see the day, men'd think i' was a treat, findin' poor animals, what are dying in the street. Mrs. Mooney has a pie shop, does a buisness bu' I notice somethin' weird, lately all the neighbor's cats 'ave disappea'ed. 'ave to 'and it to 'er wha' I calls enterprise, poppin' pussies into pies. Wouldn't do in my shop! Jus' the thought of it's enough to make ya sick...an' I'm tellin' you them pussy cats is quick."

Jaden and the gang continued to listen, still confused and horrified. Atticus leaned over to Jaden, quickly whispering, "I hope Pharoah never gets stuck here." Jaden stifled a laugh, and the woman went on again as another cockroach crawled out of the pie Hassleberry had bitten into earlier.

"No denyin' times is 'ard sir...even 'arder than the worst pies in London...is tha' jus' revolting, all greasy and gritty? I' looks like it's molting, and tastes like...well, pity a woman alone with limited wind...an' the worst pies in London!" the woman said, looking hopefully at the students. She sighed moving back hastily to the counter, "Ah children...times is hard...times is hard." Spotting yet another cockroach, she quickly smashed it with her rolling pin. 

There was an awkward silence as the woman finally stopped talking. Hassleberry still had the bite of pie in his mouth, not daring to swallow it. The woman noticed this and said, "Oh, spit i' out dear. There's worse things on the floor." Hassleberry did so quickly, taking another sip of ale as the silence consumed them again.

Aster finally said something after a few seconds. "So, if this is your pie shop, are you Mrs. Lovett?" he asked.

"I am," she answered, smiling. "An' since none-a you have pie shops, I assume, would ya care to tell me who you all are?"

Jaden, of course, being social, jumped up first. "I'm Jaden, Jaden Yuki," he said. Mrs. Lovett nodded, looking at Syrus to respond next.

"I'm Syrus," the blunette said quietly.

"Alexis."

"Atticus."

"Zane."

"Aster."

"Bastion."

"Hassleberry."

"The Chazz."

Mrs. Lovett nodded, satisfied. "Strange name's tha', bu' I suppose you aren't from 'ere. No' by the way ya dress anyway," she noted.

"Yeah, well, we're just trying to find our way back home," said Alexis.

"Lost are ya? Well, maybe I can 'elp you poor children," Mrs. Lovett said thoughtfully.

"Um, thanks, but it's not that simple," Aster said. "You see, we're not even from this time...we're from the future."

Mrs. Lovett looked at the group, confused, and a little entertained at their story. "Sure you are, love," she said.

"Seriously, we are from the future, we just...don't know how to get back to our own time," Atticus explained. 

"Wha'ever you say," Mrs. Lovett said, trying to sound sympathetic. "Why don't you stay 'ere in the mean time, yes?"

"Oh, that's ok. But thank you. We really should go now," Bastion said, quickly getting up, along with the others.

"...Well alright. 'ave a safe jou'ney!" Mrs. Lovett called after them as they left the shop.

Once outside, Chazz was the first to speak. "Glad we're out of there. That crazy woman wouldn't shut up!" he complained.

"I'm sure that's the least of our worries right now," said Zane. "We should just find some real shelter for now."

"And where, exactly, do you think we're going to find that in a city like this?" Aster said, almost mockingly.

"Let's just go, I'm sure there's some empty building we can find here," said Alexis, trying to stay optimistic.

The group walked on for a few blocks, and sure enough, they came upon a dark, worn out building. It had two stories as well, but there were no lights inside or running water. Only a few empty rooms. "Well, I guess this'll have to do for now guys," said Jaden.

"I guess so," Syrus agreed. The blunette looked around, noticing that they had nothing with them, only their duel disks, decks, and communicators. They had no food or blankets, or anything else that might help them survive. "I don't know about you guys," Syrus said. "But I'm beat. I'm getting some rest." He laid down on the hard, uncomfortable floor, taking off his uniform jacket to use as a blanket.

"Good idea, Sy," Jaden said, yawning a bit. He stretched and joined Syrus on the floor. Soon enough, all the students joined them and fell asleep, hoping that they would find their way back home soon.

Meanwhile, the mysterious stranger made his way to the street corner. He looked out from the alleyway and a shop on the opposite side. Slowly, he walked over to it, entering silently. Mrs. Lovett jumped once again and told the stranger her sad story. After she had finished, the stranger asked, "If times are so hard, why don't you rent out the shop above here?"

"Up there? Oh no, ya see...people'd think i' was 'aunted," Mrs. Lovett whispered. "Ya see, a long time ago, there was a barber an' his wife..."

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Author's Notes:

(1) Cockney is an accent used by some people in London, in which h's are dropped (so 'im instead of him) and t's are sometimes left off at the ends. go check it on wikipedia. and yes, it's my attempt at writing it how they would say it. :P Remember, I don't own Sweeney Todd or any of the songs, but I used a lot of lyrics in the dialogue!!! So in case it was hard for you to read some of the accent, I've written Mrs. Lovett's dialogue here without the accent:  
"What's your rush, what's your hurry? You gave me such a fright, I thought you were ghosts! Half a minute, can't you sit, sit you down, sit! Did you come here for a pie sir? Do forgive me if my head's a little vague. What was that? But you'd think we had the plague! From the way that people keep avoiding, no you don't! Heaven knows I try sir, but there's no one comes in even to inhale. Right you are sir would you like a drop of ale? Mind you, I can't hardly blame them...these are probably the worst pies in London...I know why nobody cares to take them, I should know, I make them, but good, no, the worst pies in London. Even that's polite: the worst pies in London. If you doubt it take a bite. Is that just disgusting? You have to concede it, it's nothing but crusting. Here drink this, you'll need it. And no wonder with the price of meat what it is, when you get it, if you get it. Never thought I'd live to see the day, men would think it was a treat, finding poor animals what are dying in the street. Mrs. Mooney has a pie shop. Does a business but I notice something weird, lately all the neighbor's cats have disappeared. Have to hand it to her what I call enterprise, popping pussies into pies. Wouldn't do in my shop. Just the thought of it's enough to make you sick. And I'm telling you them pussy cats is quick. No denying times is hard sir...even harder than the worst pies in London...is that just revolting, all greasy and gritty? It looks like it's molting, and tastes like...well pity a woman alone with limited wind...and the worst pies in London! Ah children, times is hard, times is hard"  
"Oh spit it out dear. There's worse things on the floor"  
"I am. And since none of you have pie shops, I assume, would you care to tell me who you all are"  
"Strange names that, but I suppose you aren't from here. Not by the way you dress anyway"  
"Lost are you? Well, maybe I can help you poor children"  
"Sure you are, love"  
Whatever you say. Why don't you stay here in the mean time, yes"  
"...Well alright. Have a safe journey"  
"Up there? Oh no, you see, people think it's haunted. You see, a long time ago, there was a barber and his wife..." 


	4. Reunited at Last

The sun glared through the windows, straying across the students' faces as morning arrived. Syrus was the first to wake up, blinking several times before sitting up. A slight pain shot through his back, an ache caused by the unforgiving floor they slept on. The sleepy blunette rubbed his eyes and reached over to put on his glasses. He felt around the floor for the them, but didn't find them where they should have been. He quickly stood up, pulling up his jacket from the floor. Still no sign of the glasses. He searched around the room blindly for them, nearly tripping on Atticus as he walked about. It was then that he noticed his glasses weren't the only thing missing from the room. Chazz was nowhere to be found as well.

"Stupid Chazz...must have taken my glasses," Syrus grumbled to himself. The blind blunette found his way to where Jaden was sleeping. He shook his friend in an attempt to wake him. "Jaden, wake up, I need your help." The brunette didn't respond, replying only with heavy sighs in his sleep. Syrus shook him more violently. "Jaden! Wake up. Now!" Syrus whispered as loudly as he could. Any louder, and he would have woken up all the students before Jaden even budged. Luckily, a ray of sun bounced into the room, illuminating Jaden's closed eyes. He slowly blinked, realizing it was morning, and they were still in London, far away from home. "Thank goodness, you're finally awake!" said Syrus, half excited and half worried.

"Morning Sy. What are you doing up so early? No one else is awake, are they?" Jaden asked. Syrus shook his head in response.

"Well, I thought I was the only one up, but then I couldn't find my glasses. And when I looked around for them, I noticed Chazz wasn't here, so I'm guessing he took them," Syrus said rather sadly.

Jaden frowned and sat up, looking around. Sure enough, Chazz was nowhere to be seen. "Maybe he went for a walk or something," Jaden muttered, still halfway consumed by sleep. The brunette stood up and pulled on his red jacket. "I'll be back soon. You just stay here," he told Syrus. The little blunette nodded, and sat back down on the floor before he tripped over anything else.

Jaden opened the front door, letting in several bright streams of sun. He stepped out, closing the door quietly behind him. The brunette had taken no more than five steps to the street on the left before something ran into him. He fell over, yelping at the sudden hit.

"Watch it slacker!" yelled a familiar voice. Jaden shook himself off and stood up, seeing an irritated, but smug looking Chazz.

"Oh hey Chazz. You didn't take Sy's glasses did you?" the brunette asked, smiling a little.

Chazz smiled slyly back. "Good morning to you too. And as a matter of fact, I did take his glasses." He pulled out the glasses from his coat pocket. "Thought it'd be funny to see the little twerp walking around blindly," he said, laughing a little to himself.

"Well, Syrus needs them back now. Joke's over," said Jaden sternly, worried for his friend.

"Whatever," Chazz said casually, handing the glasses to Jaden.

The brunette looked up to the raven-haired teen before him. "What were you doing out here anyway?" asked Jaden.

Chazz shrugged in response. "I couldn't sleep last night, so I just went for a walk. Thought I'd try to make a map of this place. It'll probably come in handy," he said, pulling out a scrap of paper from another pocket. Jaden studied the map carefully, glancing at the shop a few blocks away. Chazz saw Jaden's glance and added, "When I was walking last night, I heard that crazy pie lady talking about something..."

"What? What was she talking about?" Jaden asked, being his curious self.

"Calm down will ya? It's not that important," Chazz said, scowling at the Slifer. "Some story about a barber and his wife."

"Tell me! I wanna know!" Jaden whined.

"Fine! Just shut up, and let's go inside," Chazz growled. He opened the door to their room with a creak, stepping in quietly. Jaden ran up to Syrus immediately.

"Got your glasses back!" the brunette said happily as he handed Syrus's sight back to him.

Syrus smiled greatfully. "Thanks Jay," the blunette said, shooting a fleeting glare at Chazz.

Not noticing, Chazz began with his story. "So, anyway, last night, I heard that lady talking about this barber, who apparently got convicted of a crime he didn't commit. Some judge I guess wanted his wife, and so he sent the barber to prison for 15 years... Barber had a kid too. Just a baby apparently. The poor wife was raped by the judge, and she poisoned herself," the raven-haired teen said, his voice growing more and more mysterious. "Then, some other voice rose up, yelling! And I could see the guy who yelled through one of the windows in the shop. It was that stranger guy," Chazz continued.

"You mean the one that practically knocked me over when we first got here?" Syrus asked.

Chazz nodded, and went on, "Figures he's the barber...Benjamin Barker is his name. But I'd be careful if I were you guys."

Jaden tilted his head to the side a bit. "Why?" he asked.

Chazz shot a glare at the oblivious brunette. "Weren't you paying attention? That stranger guy is the one who's wife got raped and his baby taken away! HE'S OUT FOR REVENGE!" Chazz yelled. At this point, the boys' chatter had woken up nearly all the students, all except for Atticus.

"What are you guys talking about?" asked Aster, still waking up.

Chazz sighed. "I'll tell you later. Just let me finish," he said irritated. "So, now, he's in disguise as 'Sweeney Todd' and he's going to kill that judge!" Chazz went on.

"...You're making this up aren't you?" said Zane. "You know, it was probably just a dream."

Chazz's face drooped a little. "It wasn't a dream, ok? I know it happened!" he protested.

"You know, Chazz could be onto something here. I have a feeling we should avoid that pie shop now at all costs," Bastion added.

The group nodded in agreement. Chazz cut in again, "Plus, I heard Todd say that he was going to stay on that floor above the shop, so I suppose that's just one more reason we should stay out of there."

"True. I don't think we were planning on going back anyway," Atticus added, now awake like the others.

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"This place ough'a do!" Mrs. Lovett said, leading "Sweeney" up a flight of stairs to the room above. The space was covered in dust and dirt, having not been inhabited for years. She let Mr. Todd look around while she tapped a board by the slanted, broken window. The board made a hollow sound, and once cleared of the dust could be lifted easily. Mrs. Lovett did so, bringing out an old box. Sweeney turned around from where he was looking and his face lit up slightly, recognizing the box. "I 'id 'em 'ere when they took ya away," Mrs. Lovett said, opening the box and letting Sweeney see the contents. "Though' ya migh' be back someday, thinkin' ya migh' use 'em again...crack i' the head wasn't I?" she said, laughing a little. Sweeney's face remained quite serious as he pulled a shining blade from the velvet covering. He flicked out the razor, and watched it gleam in the gray light from outside.

"These are my friends..." he said, wistfully. "You've been locked out of sight all these years...like me," Sweeney continued softly to his razor. He smiled a little. "Now, I've come home to find you waiting, I'm home, and we're together...and we'll do wonders, won't we? You'll drip rubies...precious...rubies," he said wickedly to the shining blade. Mrs. Lovett came up quietly behind him, trying not to interrupt his moment.

"I'm your frien' too, Mr. Todd...if you only knew, Mr. Todd...oh, Mr. Todd, you're warm in my 'and..." Mrs. Lovett said, as Sweeney continued speaking to his long-lost razor. "You've come 'ome! Always 'ad a fondness for you, I did... Neve' you fea', Mr. Todd, you can move in 'ere, Mr. Todd. Splendors you neve' 'ave dreamed all your days will be yours...I'm your frien', and you're mine!" Mrs. Lovett said sweetly. Sweeney stood up slowly, admiring the gleam of the blade as he held it up above his head.

He spoke with intensity, knowing very well that he would put the razor to good use, "...At last...my arm is complete again!"

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I don't own Sweeney Todd, k? I just want to reiterate that so no one's like "you used lyrics and script and lines and blahblahblahblahblah!" I don't want to hear it! No one has done that so far, and i want to keep it that way. thanks for all the nice comments and reviews everyone. i appreciate it LOTS!!! Oh, and if you need a translation for Mrs. Lovett's dialogue, message me, and I'll send it to ya. i know it can be hard to read sometimes...


	5. Johanna, the Beautiful Ward

Anthony walked around the streets hopelessly, turning to his left and right constantly. His dark eyes darted down to the map in his hands, then back up at the street again. The sailor sighed, knowing very well that he was lost. None the less, he kept walking, hoping to find some place that he could ask for directions. Passing by a tall, gated building, he stopped quickly, hearing something. It was soft, and melodic...the voice of a young girl singing. Anthony dropped his bag on a nearby bench, walking slowly toward the voice coming from the building. He looked up in wonder at a beautiful girl sitting by a window. She was no more than sixteen years old, and her long, golden locks of hair fell about her shoulders, hiding a bit of her pale skin. Her ice blue eyes stared into the gray sky, and then shifted to something next to her. Anthony turned his head to get a glimpse of what caught the girl's attention. It was a cage, rusty and old, but it contained two small birds, chirping quietly.

The girl began to sing again, "Green finch and linnet bird, nightingale, blackbird, how is it you sing? How can jubilate sitting in cages, never taking wing? Outside the sky waits, beckoning, just beyond the bars. How do you remain staring at the rain, maddened by the stars? How is it you sing anything...how is it you sing?" Anthony stood frozen, entranced by the girl's angelic voice. He slowly inched forward, hoping to catch her attention.

The girl simply continued singing to her birds, not noticing the sailor below, "My cage has many rooms, damask and dark...nothing there sings, not even my lark. Larks never will, you know, when they're captive... teach me to be more adaptive. Green finch and linnet bird, nightingale, blackbird, teach me how to sing. If I cannot fly...let me sing..."

Finally, the beautiful girl looked down from where she sat at the window. She smiled sweetly at Anthony, who in turn, smiled back. He knew, without a doubt, that he loved her, and she loved him too. Suddenly, the girl turned around, looking surprised and a bit scared. She stood up, leaving Anthony's sight. The sailor backed up, still in a daze, when an old, ragged woman approached him.

"Alms!(1) Alms! For a miserable woman...on a miserable, chilly mo'ning,"(2) she said, holding out her worn hands to Anthony. He quickly reached into his pocket, placing a coin in the beggar's hand. "Thank ya si'...thank ya..." she said wearily. She began to scuttle off, but Anthony stopped her momentarily.

"Ma'am, could you tell me who's house this is?" the sailor asked, pointing to the window where the young girl was sitting earlier.

"Oh..." the beggar woman whispered. "Tha's the grea' Judge Turpin's house, tha' is."

"...And the young lady who resides there?" Anthony continued.

"Ahh, tha's Johanna, 'is pretty li'l ward. Keeps 'er snug 'e does... all locked up. So don' you go tresspassin' there or it's a good whippin' for ya...or any othe' man with mischief on 'is mind..." she said laughing a little. She began to dance around Anthony, singing, " 'Ow would ya like a li'l muff, dea', a li'l jig jig, a li'l bounce aroun' the bush? Wouldn' ya like to push me parsley? I' looks to me, dea' like you go' plenty there to push!(3) ...Alms! Alms!" The beggar woman had shifted gears from an insane, sex-craving hag to a miserable beggar in seconds. She walked off, leaving behind a confused and rather disgusted Anthony.

He shook it off as best as he could and simply looked hopefully at the window again, hoping that Johanna would have returned. Instead, the door below opened, and a man in a fancy brown coat and dress pants beckoned him inside. Anthony looked around, thinking that the man was pointing to someone else. The sailor pointed a finger at himself, hopeful that the man would let him come inside to meet Johanna. The man nodded, opening the door a bit wider as Anthony grabbed his bag and entered the large building. The man closed the door, and led Anthony to the library, which was dimly lit, and had several bookshelves filled with books both old and new. Even in the dim light, Anthony could tell the man had gray hair and cold gray eyes to match. The man frowned, looking at Anthony.

"You must be Judge Turpin," Anthony said awkwardly, breaking the silence as he sat down in one of the chairs.

"Yes, I am," the judge replied. "And you are...?"

"Anthony!" the sailor replied quietly, a little intimidated by the judge's behavior. "Uh, it's a bit embarrassing to admit, but I'm lost. Funny for a sailor like me to loose his bearings, yes?" he said, trying to lighten the mood. Turpin simply turned around, facing one of the many book shelves.

"Such practices..." he said quietly. He moved slowly, each of his grimy, dirt-encrusted fingernails trailing on the spines of every book in the row. "(4) The geishas of Japan...the concubines of Siam...the cadomites of Greece...the harlots of India," Turpin continued down the row.

Anthony looked up nervously, wondering what the judge was trying to say. Just then, Turpin turned to Anthony. "I have them all here," he said, "everything you've ever dreamed of doing..." The judge paused, not taking his cold, heartless eyes of off the young and rather frightened sailor. "...with a woman," Turpin finished. "Would you like to see?" he asked, pulling out a dark, old book from it's place on the shelf.

Anthony answered quietly, "I think there's some mistake..."

The judge shoved the book back into its place, still not letting Anthony escape his gaze. "I think not," the judge said as he pointed an accusing finger at the sailor. "You gandered at my ward, Johanna, you gandered," he said.

Anthony gasped a little, knowing he had been caught. The judge continued, not letting Anthony say a word, "Yes, sir, you gandered!"

"I meant no harm," the sailor replied quietly, now sinking farther into the chair he sat in.

"Your meaning is immaterial..." the judge said quietly. He then suddenly lunged toward Anthony, bringing their faces only inches apart. "Mark me," the cruel judge said, "If I see your face again on this street...you'll rue the day you were born." Turpin snapped his head over to the doorway, nodding. Anthony looked behind him and saw a rather short, but filthy looking man. His teeth were crooked, and he had a cane with him. He grabbed Anthony harshly by the arm, dragging him out the door with his bag. Anthony found himself being flung onto the unforgiving pavement, tasting blood in his mouth. He slowly attempted to get to his knees, but was brought down with a crack. The impact of the short man's cane on his back left him writhing on the pavement once more. He rolled over, and looked into a pair of eyes just as heartless as the judge's. The cane was unsheathed by the man, revealing a sharp point. The point was pressed against his throat as he struggled to move away.

"You heard the Judge, get out..." the short man said, putting the cover on the cane once more. Anthony rolled over again, blood still dripping from his mouth as he relaxed a little. Just as his back muscles loosened, a heavy weight was dropped on him, pressing him to the cold ground once more. The short man had thrown the sailor's bag out too, letting it land on Anthony. Slowly and painfully, Anthony got up, hoisting the bag over his shoulder as he walked on. He passed the window once more, hoping to see Johanna. She was not there, but he told himself, "I feel you, Johanna (5)... I feel you... I was half convinced I'd waken satisfied enough to dream you. Happily, I was mistaken...Johanna." He continued on, courage and determination pulsing in his veins, "I'll steal you, Johanna. Do they think that walls can hide you? Even now I'm at your window...I am in the dark beside you...buried sweetly in your yellow hair. I feel you, Johanna." Her name tasted sweet on his lips, sweet enough to overcome the metallic taste of blood from before. He began walking away, his mind filled with impossible dreams and hopes. "And one day, I'll steal you... 'til I'm with you then, I'm with you there...sweetly buried in your yellow hair," he finished, smiling to himself. Adrenaline filled every ounce of him, and he took off running down the street.

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Jaden's stomach grumbled. He looked around, seeing that everyone was just as hungry as he was. "Anyone have any idea where we're gonna find food?" he asked the group. The only response was silence. No one, not even Chazz was in the least bit familiar with London yet.

"Maybe we should just look around," suggested Aster.

"Sure... then maybe we can find a 5-star hotel and a spa for you too, Phoenix," Zane said under his breath sarcastically. Aster shot him a glare, but quickly re-entered his calm and collected state.

"I'll bet there's a market somewhere around here," Bastion said.

"Yeah, that'll work!" Syrus said, hopefully.

"Uh, aren't you idiots forgetting something?" Chazz said coldly, looking at everyone as if they had the IQ of a lawnmower. "We have no money!"

"Well, desperate times call for desperate measures," Atticus said. "We'll just have to steal food until we can find some way of getting money."

Alexis protested, "Stop it! We can't steal! And you're acting like we're going to be living here for a while!" She bit her lip, a few tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

Atticus looked worriedly at his sister and held her closely. "I'm sorry Sissy, it's just... we can't seem to find a way back, so...we're just going to have to do what we can for now, ok?" he said, hugging her tighter.

Alexis nodded. "I'm just scared. I don't want to be here," she said quietly. The room filled with silence. Alexis shook herself off, wiping her eyes a little. "Well...what are we waiting for? Let's go," she said softly, opening the door first and allowing the cold air from outside to fill her lungs. The others followed her, letting her lead the way for a little while.

Chazz interrupted, "Uh, Lexi, do you want to take a look at the map and find out where we are?" He held out the worn piece of paper to her, and she took it carefully.

"Thanks Chazz," she said, looking down at the map. After a few seconds, she said, "Why don't we head down this way? I think I can hear a lot of people from over there." She pointed down a dark street, leading to quite a large open space. The group nodded, following her lead. A few short minutes later, they found themselves surrounded by people, both rich and poor, young and old. The marketplace had many stalls and booths, most of them showing fruits or vegetables. There was a rather large stage as well, with a colorful tent towards the back. Above it read "Pirelli's Miracle Elixir" on a banner. Not too far off from the stage, Mrs. Lovett and Sweeney Todd wove their way through the crowd.

"Comes 'ere every Sunday, 'e does," Mrs. Lovett told Sweeney. "Quite the bugga," she said, obviously not too fond of this Pirelli person. Sweeney didn't respond. Instead he simply stared up at the banner above the tent.

Out of nowhere, a drum beat could be heard. A young boy no older than 11 or 12 walked out from the tent. The boy had long, blonde hair, although it wasn't very noticeable under the hat he was wearing. He banged on the drum louder to get the crowd's attention. Eventually the crowd was silent, and all the attention was on the small boy at the front of the stage. (6)

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(1) Alms are coins, I believe. They're given to the poor as charity. Check wikipedia.

(2) The beggar lady speaks cockney...like Mrs. Lovett.

(3) The rating officially goes up!!! XD

(4) Sorry if I didn't spell some of the places or people right. :P

(5) Sorry for all these author notes, but I just had to say that this line "I feel you" isn't supposed to be sexual, just love-y and cute.

(6) I suck at finding an ending for chapters! XD


	6. Pirelli's Miracle Elixir

Satisfied, the boy smiled at the crowd, who had given him their full attention. He began singing a catchy tune. "Ladies an' gentlemen, may I 'ave your attention pa-lease? (1) Do you wake every mo'ning in shame and despair to discover your pillow is covered with 'air? Wha' ought not to be there? Well, ladies an' gentlemen, from now on you can waken at ease! You need neve' again have a worry or care, I will show you a miracle, ma'velous, rare. Gentlemen, you are abou' to see something tha' rose from the dead... on the top of my head!" he sang, and pulled of the hat he was wearing. Out of it tumbled a thick mass of long, blonde, wavy hair. The boy smiled as he watched the crowd and the amazement on their faces. Some of the people laughed and others just gasped. Jaden turned to his friends, and they all exchanged knowing looks.

"Is it me or does that boy's hair look totally fake?" Alexis asked.

"Do you have to ask?" Atticus answered.

Ignoring them, the boy went on. He pulled out a bottle from a nearby table on the stage. "Twas Pirelli's Miracle Elixir, tha's wha' did the trick sir, true sir true. Was it quick sir? Did i' in a tick sir, jus' like an elixir ough' ta do!" He rushed about the nearby spectators, " 'Ow abou' a bottle miste'? Only costs a penny guaranteed! Does Pirelli's stimulate the growth sir? You can 'ave my oath sir, 'tis unique." The boy dumped a bit of the elixir into his hand and rubbed it on the head of a bald man who stood by the front of the stage.

The boy sang on, "Rub a minute, stimulatin' i'n it? Soon you'll 'ave to thin it once a week!" He smiled and started throwing bottles of the elixir into the crowd, who happily caught it and used it right away. They opened the bottles, releasing a nauseating odor that filled the air.

"You guys smell that?" Jaden asked.

"Yeah," Syrus said, holding his nose.

"I think I'm gonna hurl!" Hassleberry said rather loudly.

"You should be use to bad smells Hassleberry! You're a walking example of one!" Syrus yelled at the muscular teenager.

Hassleberry glared at the small blunette. "Take that back!" he said ferociously, his pupils turning to slits.

"Well, it's true!" Syrus argued.

"Oh, break it up you two," Bastion cut in, literally standing in between the two to stop them from fighting.

Atticus laughed a little and looked around. He spotted a familar, gloomy face in the crowd. Sweeney Todd's face. "Hey guys, isn't that Todd over there?" the surfer asked, pointing to the disgruntled-looking man.

"Hey, yeah! It is!" said Jaden.

"Remember what I told you guys," Chazz added, making a motion where his finger slid across his throat.

"Oh...right," said Jaden, becoming serious suddenly. He looked over again at Todd, who also seemed to have noticed the new, revolting smell.

The barber turned to Mrs. Lovett. "Pardon me ma'am what's that awful stench?" he asked, although he already knew what it was. He was just attempting to get the crowd to notice the product was a fraud.

"Prob'ly standin' near an open trench," the pie shop owner said, smirking.

"Prob'ly standin' near an open trench," Todd repeated to the people around him as Mrs. Lovett simultaneously asked the man next to her, "Pardon me sir, what's tha' awful stench?"

The boy on the stage reacted quickly, not wanting the crowd to find out about what was really in the elixir. He sang, "Buy Pirelli's Miracle Elixir, anything wha's slick sir soon sprouts curls. Buy Pirelli's, when they see 'ow thick sir, you can 'ave your pick, sir, of the girls!" The boy winked at some of the men in the audience, who in turn, smiled back. "Wanna buy a bottle miste'?" he asked, holding out another bottle to a man in the crowd.

Todd looked disgustedly at the bottle in his own hands. "Wha' is this?"

"Wha' is this?" Mrs. Lovett repeated.

"Smells like piss," Todd said mockingly, sniffing the top of the open bottle cautiously.

He held the bottle out to Mrs. Lovett. She smelled it, and said, "Smells like...ew!" She flinched away from the bottle, waving her hand in front of her nose in an attempt to get rid of the smell. "I wouldn't touch i' if I was you dear!" she told the crowd.

"Looks like piss...this is piss, piss with ink!" Todd announced, satisfied with the angry and desperate expression the boy now had on his face.

Still, the boy continued to persuade the crowd. "Let Pirelli's activate your roots sir!"

"Keep it off your boots sir, eats right through!" Todd interrupted.

"Yes, get Pirelli's, use a bottle of it, ladies seem to love it!" the boy said over the noise of the now suspicious crowd.

"Flies do too," Mrs. Lovett said rather plainly, silencing the crowd. Out of nowhere, everyone in the crowd except Zane and Aster burst out laughing, or at least attempted to supress their laughter, but not with much luck. The boy turned around with a huff and was about to go back inside the tent when a man shoved his way out. He was rather tall, and had a fancy air to him. He had a curly black mustache just below his rather long nose. He wore a sleek top hat over his slick black hair, and the rest of his body was adorned by fancy, blue clothing with golden embellishments. His pants were a bit tight, creating a bulged look in his crotch. Over everything, he wore a long, flowing, cape, which he twirled around several times as he entered.

He thrust out his arms suddenly after the crowd had quieted down, and said proudly, "I am Adolfo Pirelli, da king of the barbers, da barber of kings! E buon giornio, good day, I blow you a kiss!" The man, Pirelli, spoke with an Italian accent, and he continued to wave the cape around energetically as he introduced himself. "And I, da so famous Pirelli, I wish-a to know-a who has-a da nerve-a to say..." Pirelli's voice continued gracefully. His tone suddenly turned to an annoyed, angry one in a matter of milliseconds, "...my elixir is piss! Who says this?!" The crowd was absolutely silent. No one dared say anything, even if the elixir truly did smell like piss.

Finally, Todd decided to speak up. "I do," he said, as every eye in the crowd turned to him. Todd stepped forward, slowly, but confidently. "I am Mr. Sweeney Todd of Fleet Street. I have opened a bottle of Pirelli's elixir, and I say to you that it is nothing but an errant fraud, concocted from piss and ink," Todd continued.

A few whispers went up through the crowd.

"Todd must have some serious guts to say something like that in front of Pirelli," Chazz noted.

"No kidding. But Todd is right," Syrus said. The group nodded in agreement. On the stage, Pirelli simply smiled, obviously masking his fury behind it. His lip twitched a little, realizing that he would lose the crowd if he didn't act fast. Before he could contradict the man from Fleet Street, the barber went on.

"Further more...signor," Todd said, mocking the Italian man's title, "I have serviced no kings, yet I wager I can shave a cheek with ten times the dexterity..." The barber paused dramatically. "...than any street mountebank," he finished.

Mrs. Lovett smirked as most of the crowd was taken aback by Todd's words.

"What's a mountebank?" Jaden asked cluelessly.

"It's a person who sells fake medicines in a place like this," Aster explained, gesturing at the stage in front of them.

"Oh...So, did Todd just insult Pirelli?" Jaden asked stupidly.

Aster smacked his forhead and closed his eyes. 'How oblivious can you get?' Aster thought to himself.

"Yes Jaden, and it looks like Pirelli's not too happy about it either," Alexis said patiently. The group looked back up to the Italian man, who was smiling, but this time, not to hide anything. He would accept the challenge and win without even trying.

"You hear zis foolish man? Now, please, you will see how he will regret his-a folly!" Pirelli said loudly.

Sweeney turned to the crowd as he stepped onto the stage. "Who's for a free shave?" he asked. Several hands went up in the crowd, and Todd chose one man to come up as well as Pirelli. Todd turned to a short, grimy man in the crowd who had a cane in his hand. "Will Beadle Bamford be the judge?" he asked. (2)

The grimy man smiled, showing crooked and filthy teeth. "Glad, as always, to oblige my friends and neighbors," Beadle said as he moved closer to the stage. The barbers readied the men sitting in front of them, throwing covers over their fronts. Pirelli's, of course, was an Italian flag. Pirelli stomped on the floor, and this signaled the boy to come out with a razor and strap to sharpen it. The boy held one end as Pirelli carelessly ran the blade across to strap. It slid off everytime, slicing a bit of the boy's knuckles, which were bandaged and bleeding already. He winced, but dealt with it anyway. Mrs. Lovett looked up sympathetically at the boy, feeling sorry for him.

Pirelli nodded to signal that he was ready. Beadle nodded in return. "The fastest, smoothest shave is the winner!" Beadle said to the crowd. He blew his high pitched whistle, and the contest between the two barbers began.

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(1) The boy speaks cockney too! what a surprise. :P

(2) Sorry if this was a little confusing, but for those who havent heard the story of Sweeney Todd, Sweeney knows who the Beadle is and has known him since before he was sent off to prison. Sweeney wants revenge on both Judge Turpin and Beadle. btw, i'll be referring to Beadle Bamford as just "Beadle".

Well guys, how am i doing so far with this story? For all of you who are just here for the blood, it'll be coming in a few chapters. :D haha. review please?


	7. Victorious Barber, Future Visitors

Pirelli grabbed a cup from the small stand next to him and began whipping around some white, foamy substance rapidly. Some of it flew off and landed on the stage, other parts of it landed on the Italian flag on top of the man in the chair before him. Pirelli looked at Todd, and slowed a little, noticing that the rival barber simply ran his razor across a piece of fabric slowly and smoothly. Todd was in no hurry.

Pirelli then turned to the crowd and spoke rhythmically, "Now, signorini, signori, we mix-a da lather but first-a you gather around! Signorini, signori, you looking a man who have had-a da glory to shave-a da Pope! Mr. Sweeney whoever, I beg-a you pardon---'ll say it was-a only a Cardinal, nope!" He paused dramatically from his mixing. He motioned toward the little boy behind him. The boy came forward with a scroll of what looked like parchment paper. "It was-a da Pope!" Pirelli finished. The boy held the top of the scroll and let the rest unravel before the audience's eyes. A picture of the Pope was drawn on the yellowed parchment, and by the bottom there was writing "Thanks for the shave!" and signed by "The Pope".

"Looks kinda fake if you ask me," Syrus said.

"What _isn't_ fake about this guy and his get-up?" Chazz said, irritated a bit.

The confident Italian barber looked over at Todd again. He was still slowly moving the razor on the fabric, making sure it was perfect. Pirelli smiled, knowing it would be an easy victory. He began spreading the later onto the man's face and then plopped the brush he was using back into the cup, which in turn splattered more of the lather around the floor. The little boy handed him the razor, and Pirelli began to shave the man's face.

"To shave-a da face," he said with a stroke of the blade. "To cut-a da hair, require da grace, require da flare," he continued, scraping the blade across the man's face after each phrase. "For if-a you slip, you nick da skin, you clip-a da chin, you rip-a da lip a bit beyond-a repair." He looked again at Todd, who still hadn't even started. Sweeney simply stood there marveling at the sharpness of his blade, his old friend. Without hesitancy, Pirelli continued, "To shave-a da face, or even a part, widout it-a smart, require da heart. Not just-a da flash, it take-a Panash. It take-a da passion for da art. To shave-a da face, to trim-a da beard..."

Pirelli's voice became more graceful and flowing as he continued with unmasked confidence, "To make-a da bristle clean like a whistle, dis is from early infancy da talent give to me...by God..." He slowed down, and looked up at the sky. Taking the razor away from the man's face, he brought it first to his forehead, to his chest, his left and then right shoulder. He brought the razor down slowly, as if in a daydream. He went back to his job, and shaved the man's throat quite violently and harshly. "It take-a da skill, it take-a da brains, it take-a da will to take-a da pains," he said loudly. The crowd cringed at the intensity Pirelli was scraping the blade against the man's skin.

"That's gotta hurt," Atticus said, cringing with the rest of the crowd.

"I'd hate to be the guy in Pirelli's chair right about now," Bastion added.

"Doesn't look like Todd is gonna pull this one off," Aster noted, turning his head toward the gloomy barber. The rest of the group looked with him, and noticed that Todd had finally gotten the lather on his customer's face.

"Well, it's about time he got started," Hassleberry said.

Before any of them could say another word, Pirelli started again, but this time, he was singing, which raised a few eyebrows from Jaden and the gang. The Italian barber sang, "It take-a da pace...it take-a da graaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaace!" The last word was held out on a high note, enough to nearly shatter glass. Pirelli's vibrato carried through loudly and strongly for several seconds. Naturally, everyone in the crowd covered their ears a bit. While Pirelli held out that last note, Sweeney quickly whipped the razor across his customer's face and in less than ten seconds, he was finished. Pirelli's note ended and Beadle leaned over to see how far the Italian had gotten compared to Todd.

Seeing that Pirelli didn't finished, Beadle announced to the crowd, "The winner...is Todd!" Pirelli looked over in shock at Todd and his customer. Surely enough, Todd was finished and had beaten him fair and square.

"Wow, I guess Todd won after all!" said Alexis, almost happily.

Chazz looked at her a little worried, knowing that he would never want her to be involved with Todd and his murderous intentions.

"Well, Pirelli may have lost, but he's a pretty good singer!" Atticus commented, smiling. The group face faulted.

The crowd continued clapping for the dark, victorious barber, hardly paying any attention to Jaden and his friends. Noticing this, Zane spoke up. "The crowd's distracted. If we want to steal food, now might be the time," he said flatly.

"Oh right!" Jaden said, just remembering what they were at the market place for in the first place. The brunette crouched down and crawled around the stands, snatching an apple or two. Syrus went to the left, taking a loaf of bread with him. After several minutes of stealing, the group met at the edge of the crowd.

Everyone carried a food item to eat, all that is, except for Alexis. "Sissy, why didn't you take anything?" Atticus asked worriedly. Alexis simply looked at the ground, letting her hair cover her eyes. Atticus sighed. "You still don't want to steal anything, do you?" he asked carefully. She shook her head. Atticus opened his mouth to say something, but Chazz stopped him.

"Look, just let her be," Chazz said, putting his hand on the surfer's shoulder. "It's probably hard for her, and you gotta respect that."

Atticus nodded, still worried for his sister. "Ya know, we're gonna share the food. It's not like one person is gonna eat everything," Hassleberry assured them.

"Yeah, everything will be ok," Zane said, touching Alexis's arm gently. Finally, she looked up and smiled a little at him. She nodded a little. "C'mon...let's get home," Zane said quietly, putting his arm around her shoulders.

Alexis sighed a little. "Thank you, Zane," she said almost silently. The two walked behind the group as they headed back to the run-down building they now called "home".

Chazz growled. "Sure! I stick up for her, and Mr. King-of-the-School comes in and she thanks him!" he said irritably.

"Well, maybe if you hadn't been such a spazz back at the school, she would like you more," Bastion said smartly.

"No one asked you for your opinion!" Chazz snapped.

"Well, Chazz, I'm just stating the truth," Bastion said, not letting himself be brought down by Chazz's words.

Chazz grumbled something to himself about how Bastion wasn't even a main character, but everyone just ignored him and kept walking.

Back at the market place, Pirelli swept his cape around one last time, bowing to Sweeney. He turned and shoved the little boy into the tent before looking over his shoulder and said, "We shall-a meet-a again very soon, Mister Todd." He smiled wickedly, wanting revenge, but Sweeney remained undisturbed.

"Excuse me, Mr. Todd," said a voice behind the barber. It was the customer Sweeney had shaven for the contest.

"Yes?" Sweeney asked.

"Do you have a business for yourself? I'm sure you could make..." the man said, before being cut off by Mrs. Lovett.

"Yes, 'e does deary, righ' above my meat shop on the co'ne' of Fleet Street," she said excitedly. The man turned to Sweeney.

"Wonderful!" he said, "I shall visit soon!" With that, the man left, leaving a fascinated Beadle behind him.

"Mr. Todd!" the Beadle called. The short, grimy man approached the barber. "I believe I, too, shall be visiting your shop soon. Perhaps this week?" he asked.

"Of course," Todd said calmly. The Beadle smiled a toothy grin and turned to leave. Mrs. Lovett smiled at Todd, knowing that he would get his revenge soon enough. After the Beadle was finished, the only thing left to do would be to finish off Judge Turpin. Todd smiled to himself, imagining himself finally seeing his daughter again and finally exacting his revenge on the man who caused him so much pain. 'Oh yes...' Todd thought to himself. 'This week will most certainly be fun...'

**A/N: Hey guys: quick question...am I incorporating the gx characters enough into the storyline? cuz there will be more of them in the story later, probably in 2 or 3 chapters, but just let me know if I should add them in a bit more now. **

**and a big thank you to all the reviewers!! gives reviewers cookies**


	8. AUTHOR'S NOTE!

Just a quick note to everyone who reads this story: I don't know why, but for some reason, all the previous chapters now have no division between my author notes and the actual story! and it would be really difficult and grueling to try and change all the documents, so im very very very sorry if that confused anyone!! for future chapters, im just going to put my notes in bold lettering. again, sorry if that caused any confusion...

Also, i may not update til the middle of april...ive been busy and it's hard to find time to write...er...type more of this story, but i promise im not giving up on it! ok? ok. that's all!


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